Rap duo the Island Boys have given a statement after a suspect was arrested on first-degree murder charges at their Florida home.
On February 8, 2022, it was reported that the Island Boy’s home in Coral Springs, Florida had been raided by the authorities.
The rappers themselves were not arrested, but one of their childhood friends left the scene in handcuffs.
Authorities arrested one Andrew James Thomas on charges of first degree murder in a fatal drive-by shooting of an 8-year-old girl.
Thomas was also booked on charges of “gun possession and violation of probation” for an unrelated robbery case, as per TMZ.
The Island Boys’ manager, Dovi Bezner, spoke to the media regarding the situation, claiming that the rappers were unaware Thomas was a suspect in the shooting.
According to Bezner, the Island Boys “just knew him as a quiet kid.”
“He would come and hang out and do his thing and go back to whatever he got going on, but we had no clue about any of these allegations toward him,” Bezner said. “We just knew him as a good person, someone who grew up with the Island Boys.”
“If we knew something like this was going on, we would have never allowed him on the property.”
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The Island Boys also told investigative reporter Terri Parker that Thomas had allegedly shown up at their home a few days prior to the arrest and “crashed on their couch.”
According to police, Island Boy Alex Venegas had claimed that Thomas was running toward him down a hallway with a handgun when the SWAT team arrived.
Venegas stated that Thomas had asked him to hide the weapon, but Venegas purportedly refused. Alex then claimed that he witnessed Thomas run into their laundry room and leave without the gun.
Authorities claim they discovered the gun inside of a closet in the laundry room.
According to WPBF 25 News, Thomas is currently facing charges of “first degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.”
Terri Parker also spoke with Alex Venegas regarding the matter, who reportedly claimed that he “couldn’t believe it happened and actually cried when he realized how serious this all was.”
